Building Africa’s youth travel movement

WHEN Shirley Phiri joined her first group tour at the age of 20, she was the youngest traveler in the group.

- ASHLEY LECHMAN

That experience planted a seed that would later grow into Travel Generation, a company she founded to make travel more affordable and accessible for young people.

“I remember thinking to myself, I want to start a company that doesn’t just encourage travel, but makes it affordable and accessible for other young people like me,” Phiri said.

“I wanted my age to be a weapon, not a disadvantage. I dreamed of creating a company that would grow alongside me, and I’ve been seeing that growth over the past four years.”

Her own journeys shaped the foundation of Travel Generation.

Volunteering in Zambia taught her that travel was less about the destinations and more about the people.

“I thought the highlight of my trip would be seeing the Victoria Falls, but it was actually the people I met and connected with,” she explained.

“That’s when it dawned on me that travel isn’t just about ticking off bucket list destinations, it’s about the people you meet along the way.”

Phiri believes that simple experiences can be just as meaningful as expensive ones.

“Volunteering showed me that travel doesn’t need to be expensive to be fun and life changing,” she said.

“Sometimes it’s as simple as making sure travelers have cold bottled water on a long road trip or helping them capture the moments, but those small details make the journey memorable.”

Making travel inclusive

Phiri noticed that much of South Africa’s travel market catered to foreign visitors, with safaris and luxury lodges often out of reach for locals.